Chapter 319: Otsutsuki Hazetsu
Madara had no interest in treasures or trinkets. But the moment he heard this lackey mention artifacts from the Sage of Six Paths era—ancient secrets and classified intelligence—his attention sharpened like a blade.
He still believed Jigen served the Sage of Six Paths. Any information connected to that lineage demanded investigation.
Perhaps buried in these dusty records lay the thread that would unravel the Sage's conspiracy.
Decision made, Madara extended one finger toward the nervous shinobi.
"Lead the way. I'm inspecting this vault."
The man's face split into an eager grin as he scrambled upright, already rushing toward the manor's ruins.
Madara followed at a measured pace until they reached a collapsed building. The lackey gestured apologetically at the rubble.
"Lord Madara, the vault entrance lies beneath, but the structure's destroyed. We'll need Earth Release to—"
"Unnecessary."
Madara dismissed the suggestion with a casual wave. Susanoo's skeletal hand materialized, plunging downward like a massive excavator. The ground surrendered without resistance, chunks of earth and stone flying aside as the spectral limb carved through layers of debris.
Three, maybe four scoops later, the cleared path revealed descending stairs into darkness.
"Heh... Lord Madara's Susanoo truly is the world's most invincible technique."
The shinobi's laugh came forced and wooden as he attempted clumsy flattery. He jumped down first, scurrying along the passage toward the vault while Madara followed with Susanoo's excavator clearing any collapsed sections blocking their path.
They reached the vault door within minutes.
A corpse slumped before the entrance—one of the guards Yasushi had silently eliminated hours earlier. The lackey rifled through the dead man's pockets, producing a key ring before unlocking the heavy vault door and stepping aside with an obsequious bow.
Madara entered, his Sharingan immediately cataloging the damage. Multiple cave-ins had compromised sections of the ceiling, but the reinforced shelving units doubled as support columns, preventing total collapse. Dust coated everything in grey shrouds, but the basic structure remained intact.
His gaze swept across artifact-laden shelves before freezing on the stone tablet positioned in the vault's center.
The resemblance hit him like a physical blow.
This tablet mirrored the sacred monument from the Uchiha clan compound with unsettling precision. Not just similar—nearly identical. The dimensions matched. The material and craftsmanship proved indistinguishable. Even the decorative patterns and character styles looked like they'd been carved by the same ancient hand.
Only the inscribed text differed. Otherwise, Madara might have believed someone had stolen the Uchiha's sacred stone and sold it to this island black market.
Almost unconsciously, his Mangekyo Sharingan flared to life. If this tablet bore the same construction as the Uchiha monument, perhaps it also concealed hidden messages readable only through advanced dojutsu.
Then Madara's entire body went rigid.
Yasushi had crafted his forgery with a historian's precision, recording information about the Rabbit Goddess Otsutsuki Kaguya in meticulous detail. Every fact checked out against genuine history—but as any scholar knows, truth becomes manipulation through selective emphasis. The art lies not in lying, but in which truths you choose to highlight.
The tablet described Kaguya's extraterrestrial origins. Her cultivation of the God Tree. Consuming the chakra fruit. Using Infinite Tsukuyomi to mass-produce White Zetsu for genocide. Her eventual betrayal and sealing within the moon by two rebellious sons.
But Yasushi had added one crucial detail.
The inscription specified that Kaguya bore three sons, not two. The eldest: Otsutsuki Hagoromo. The second: Otsutsuki Hamura. And the third... Otsutsuki Hazetsu.
The first two proved treasonous disappointments who sealed their own mother. Only the dutiful third son remained loyal to the Rabbit Goddess.
Therefore, the vast army of White Zetsu created through Infinite Tsukuyomi had always been commanded by this third prince of the Otsutsuki bloodline.
The name "Zetsu" itself derived from this loyal son's title.
Yasushi's inscription ended there. He mentioned nothing about Infinite Tsukuyomi releasing Kaguya. He never explicitly stated that Black Zetsu was Otsutsuki Hazetsu. He simply established this third son's existence, explained the White Zetsu's true origins, and confirmed that Otsutsuki Hazetsu commanded massive White Zetsu forces.
What conclusions Madara drew from these facts? Well, that wasn't Uchiha Yasushi's concern.
Madara stood frozen before the tablet, motionless for so long that the nervous lackey beside him began sweating. The oppressive atmosphere radiating from the legendary shinobi felt suffocating.
"L-Lord Madara, these items all belonged to our former leader Jigen, but now everything is yours." The man's voice trembled. "Shall I gather workers to excavate these artifacts and establish a new secure vault?"
Madara's expression remained thunderously dark. Without responding, he strode forward and began methodically ransacking every shelf, searching desperately for additional records or corroborating documents.
He found nothing. Yasushi had left him only this single stone tablet—bait perfectly calculated for maximum psychological impact.
Madara returned to his original position, staring at the monument with such intensity his Sharingan seemed ready to bore holes through stone. His breathing grew heavy and ragged, chest heaving with barely contained emotion.
"Impossible."
"This doesn't make sense."
"It's fake. It has to be fake..."
The words spilled from Madara's lips in an anguished whisper. His Mangekyo Sharingan spun frantically, expanding and contracting as visible pressure built around him like gathering storm clouds.
The lackey edged closer, squinting at the tablet for several minutes but seeing nothing alarming. He wisely kept his mouth shut, tucking his head toward his chest and praying he wouldn't become collateral damage to whatever revelation had shattered his new master's composure.
After an endless moment, Madara extended one hand. A small sapling sprouted from his fingertip—Wood Release channeled through Hashirama's cells. He tried twisting the chakra, attempting different configurations, desperately seeking the technique to create another White Zetsu.
Nothing worked.
The Rinnegan wasn't the Tenseigan. It could never use Yin-Yang Release to grant souls to lifeless puppets. It fundamentally lacked the power to create beings with advanced intelligence like Black and White Zetsu possessed.
The truth crashed over Madara like an avalanche.
Black Zetsu had never been his "manifestation of will" created through Yin Release. White Zetsu had never resulted from combining Hashirama's cells with Yang Release.
"Otsutsuki... Hazetsu..."
Madara ground the name between clenched teeth, spitting it like poison. Then his body vanished in a blur of movement.
He had accounts to settle with the creature who'd been deceiving him all along.
"L-Lord Madara? Lord Madara!"
The abandoned lackey panicked as his meal ticket disappeared. He scrambled from the vault, already planning how to spin this situation with the other rogue ninja. They'd spread word that Madara ruled the island now. Maybe they could leverage his reputation for protection even in his absence—like foxes borrowing the tiger's authority.
After the lackey fled, the air itself rippled. Yasushi emerged from Kamui space wearing a satisfied grin.
He approached the stone tablet, Mangekyo Sharingan flaring as he modified the hidden text he'd originally inscribed. Most information remained unchanged—but he carefully deleted every reference to Otsutsuki Hazetsu and the White Zetsu connection.
"I wonder if Madara will come back for another look." Yasushi's smile widened into something genuinely unhinged. "Imagine his expression when he discovers the tablet's contents have been altered again. When he realizes even his precious evidence has betrayed him."
"Hehehehe..."
Drunk on malicious joy, Yasushi departed the island and returned to Otogakure.
Now came his favorite part: watching the chaos unfold.